Am I Wrong For Hating The New Facebook Logo?

The New Facebook Logo Vs. The Old One

I found out late last week that Facebook was updating their logo with a more “friendly” version, which immediately made me gasp. There are few brands as iconic as Facebook, so I immediately thought ” Well, this had better be amazing, or this must be some kind of joke.” Well, it isn’t April, so I don’t have to worry about April Fools Day, so my curiosity was piqued. I had to see the new Facebook logo.

So I took a good, long look at the new logo. My immediate thought was “generic”. I’d love to have a piece of the pie for whoever had the pleasure of redesigning this. I doubt Facebook paid anything less than 100K for the logo concept. My initial thought is “why?” If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. I feel like the new logo is weak and frail compared to the old one. This has to be a hoax or a joke, or something like that. I am really hoping it is.

My Problem With The Logo

The lowercase a looks weak. Where the counter loops into the vertical stem, it tapers way too much. The original “a” was so bold and strong. it looked like it belonged, and the logo as a whole has always seemed uniform. The same goes for the “b”. The tapering is what I don’t like. It just makes it look brittle. Also, the a was essential to the identity, because the crossbar of the lowercase f flowed straight into the a. Now, it’s an abrupt stop.

The two O’s aren’t as strong either. The original had a taller appearance. The only letter in the entire logo that I think is a slight improvement is the “c” because it seems more open and natural.

My initial thought upon seeing the logo is that someone tried to emulate the Facebook logo with the wrong typeface. I am hoping that if this is real, they are just testing it, as they take a step back with their hands up saying “just kidding.”On this one, they can tiptoe backwards silently from the room.

What Do You Think?

I’d love to hear other designer’s points of view. Feel free to chime in with your own thoughts. They can be likes, dislikes, or both. Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.